THE CALL

One of the essential steps of true discipleship is learning how to share your faith with those who don’t know Christ. God wants to make you an effective witness for Him as He enlists you as a co-laborer in His great work of redemption (1 Cor. 3:9). Jesus said, "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). God wants to give you this same love and concern for those He longs to redeem.

I. Your divine calling

Is God calling you to share your faith? Scripture is clear on this subject.

A. You have been called to the ministry of reconciliation. Paul taught, "Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God" (2 Cor. 5:18-20). Every believer has been called to this ministry of reconciling others back to God.

B. You are called to be a light to this world. Jesus charged His disciples from the very beginning to this ministry. "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matt. 5:14-16). By sharing your faith with others you are letting your light shine.

C. You are to proclaim His praises. Peter encouraged every follower of Christ with their very important position as His special people. "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9). As you learn to share your faith your message should always incorporate your personal testimony concerning how He called you out of darkness.

D. You are to go into all the world and preach the Gospel. One of the last things Jesus told His disciples was to remind them to preach the Gospel to every creature under heaven. Jesus said, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). This command is essential for every believer to follow. Remember that you are a Christian today because someone shared Christ with you.

II. The promise

After a disciple understands the divine call to proclaim the Gospel, there is usually an immediate question within a person’s mind of, Am I able to do this? The answer is Yes! By God’s grace He will make you an able and effective witness for Him if you will simply allow Him to teach you how.

A. The promise of Christ. Jesus didn't simply command the disciples to go preach and not fully equip them to fulfill His command. Jesus promised, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men" (Mark 1:17). This promise implies several things: (1) If Jesus has to make us to become fishers of men then we aren't one naturally. It’s quite obvious from reading the Gospels that Jesus spent much time and effort training His disciples to be fishers of men (Matt. 10:5-42). (Luke 10:1-24). (2) If He begins this work of making you a fisher of men, He will complete it (Phil. 1:16). (3) Note that it is God that is at work to make you an effective witness for Him. (4) You must follow Christ fully in all aspects of your personal life for this work to be accomplished as He intends.

B. The encouragement to pray. When the disciple’s of Christ first began to understand the great need of the salvation of the world and the great harvest the soul’s as Jesus described it, Christ told them to do one essential thing, pray. "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest" (Matt. 9:37-38). Why would Jesus encourage them to pray? Because prayer will be how you will come into agreement with the Father and receive the same burden that He possesses for the lost. As you begin praying for the Father to send laborers into the harvest the most natural thing that will occur will be that you will end by praying, send me Lord.

III. The balance

Keeping balance priorities in the Christian life is always essential to a happy and successful walk. Therefore, it is very important that as you begin this study in learning to share your faith that you must understand the place that this part of your walk should have in relation to the other major areas.

What should be the priorities of your Christian walk?

A. Worship and fellowship with God: The first and great commandment of God is to love Him with all your heart, mind, and soul (Matt. 22:37-40). If you fail to keep this as the supreme priority of your life by forgetting to come to Him on a regular basis, the river of life within will slowly run dry (John 7:37-39).

B. Relationship, fellowship, and instruction within the Body of Christ: The second great commandment is that you must love and have a real relationship with believers within the church. Every believer must be connected to the Body of Christ like every member of your physical body is connected to another (Rom. 12:4-5). The life-blood of fellowship within the Body and the encouragement from God’s Word that continually instructs and warns you is what helps to keep your priorities correctly balanced. If you fail to stay connected to the Body of Christ, again, you will slowly dry up as a branch cut off from the vine.

C. Reaching the Lost: If you fail to keep a love and concern for the lost, again, you will spiritually slowly dry up because you will be missing the joy of sharing your faith with others (Luke 10:17). Keeping these three in balance is very important.